Reasons For Australia Skillselect Being More Competitive Now

15 Dec 2017

Receiving a Skill Select invitation is difficult in 2017 in comparison to previous years. This is evident for occupations like IT, Accounting, and Engineering.

Here we look at the trends and for the reasons making it difficult to obtain it and also suggest the ways to improve possibilities to get it.

The Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa is of permanent nature which helps to qualify candidates based on their English language ability, qualifications, and work experience.  There is no requirement of sponsorship/nomination by a relative/employer or state/territory government.

At first, the applicant has to submit an Expression of Interest through Skill Select and get an invitation for applying. Invitations are given to the best aspirants depending on the score in General Skilled Migration points test. They have to select an occupation from the Independent and Family Sponsored Occupations List.

Some occupations are well-liked and get many eligible EOIs than listed in the job-related ceiling. These professions are "pro rata" occupations – and require greater points and the waiting time is also long here.

The "non-pro rata" professions do not draw full strength of the ceiling each year and have a low required score.

Trends for Skilled Independent Subclass 189

For the present year, the score needed was  65 and sometimes it was 70 points.

The chart here:

The invitations issued in Pro Rata were 10,375 for 189 and 489 families sponsored visas compared to 12,021 seeing a reduction of 1,646 in one year.

In 2017-18, there have been 2,896 invitations issued to non-pro rata occupations, compared to 4,421 seeing a reduction of 1,525 places or 34%.

The Total Pro Rata jobs were 16,022 during the year compared to 19,384 in the previous year registering a decline of 3,362 corresponding to 21%.

A point clearly seen in the analysis of data is that there are many EOIs with higher point scores than observed during the last year. The January 2017 round saw 350 invitations issued to persons with 70 points and the October 2017 round, saw 900 invitations issued to persons with 70 points or more.

English Language Ability

A significant reason for the increase is the claiming of more points by the applicants for English language ability. They score full points for having superior English by taking the Pearson Test of English Academic and get good points.

Points from Other Sources might include a completed Professional Year for people who have studied in Australia in Engineering, Accounting, and IT. Candidates with NAATI Accreditation as Translators/ Interpreters can claim 5 extra points

Spouse or partner, who passes in skills assessment and has the basic qualification in English, can contribute 5 points to the tally.

Do not Over-Claim Points while submitting an EOI. If not proved as claimed, this results in refusal of the visa application.

Submitting More than One EOI

Another possibility is that a single applicant submits more than one EOI. Applicants can submit many EOIs. In case the applicant has good points, they can be invited more than once. This uses up many places in the job ceiling which is not available to others aspirants.

Recommendations for Applicants

Owing to the competitive nature this year, it would be wise if the applicants score high points. This includes enhanced English Language Ability: possessing it gives a good chance of receiving an invitation

Other opportunities to be aware of are State Nomination. Visas in The state nominated subclass 190 and 489 are out of the purview of occupation ceilings and 60 points are sufficient to qualify for them. 

Conclusion

• The 2017-18 year is competitive and challenging for Skill Select.
• The ideal way to tackle it is to Use an efficient migration agent who gives an extra edge that is needed to obtain PR.

To find out if you are eligible to immigrate to Australia permanently, fill out a free evaluation form or contact us at [email protected] or call us 7207111222. One of our experts will meet your expectations and provide answers to queries.